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CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency

Jun 10, 2010

, Last Updated: 12:52 AM ET

PHILADELPHIA - The Stanley Cup was heavier than Jonathan Toews thought it would be.

“But getting a chance to lift it gives you some energy,” said the Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews who became the first ’Hawks captain to lift the Cup in 49 years and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player.

Along with teammates Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Toews concluded a memorable season with both an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup.

“The gold medal is special, but I can’t say anything compares to what (the ’Hawks) went through as a team to win a championship. This is incredible,” said Toews, who finished second in playoff scoring behind Philadelphia Flyer Daniel Briere.

Toews led going into Game 6 Wednesday night, but Briere’s goal and two assists allowed him to leapfrog Toews at the top of the list. Briere finished with 30 points and Toews, 29.

His teammates call him Captain Serious, but Toews was all smiles after the ’Hawks 4-3 victory on Patrick Kane’s overtime goal at 4:06 of the first overtime - a goal almost no one in the rink but Kane realized had been scored - ended it.

“Jonathan Toews is a special human being, a young kid who had one of those years,” said Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. “Big player in the Olympics. Big player for us in the playoffs. The bigger the setting, the bigger the game, the bigger he seems to rise to that challenge, to that occasion. He was a big factor tonight. I thought that line set the tone right off the first shift of the game.

“He doesn’t say too much, but his competitiveness, his wanting to be the best he can be every time he hits the ice is noticed.”

“We have pretty different personalities,” said Kane of Toews. “I think one thing that remains the same with us is we both love hockey and we both love to compete and play the game.”